Street-sweeping machine.



1. F. OBBIEN. STREET SWEEPING MACHINE. APPLICAHON -FH.-ED NOV. 15' 1916- UNITED sm m esmr or on JoHnir. OBRIEN," or move, OHIO, nssrenon TO THE MUNICIPALAMACI-IITNE vrnnurAc .TURING 00., or PIQ A', onro. V

srnnnr'swnnrme MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN'F. OBRIEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweeping Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and'use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the'letters and figures of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

Th1s lnventlon relates to lmprovements in street sweeplng machlnes and more particularlyto the sweeperpropenits manner ofmounting and the means for manipulating the same. In view of the fact that the improvements relate to these particular agencies, various parts'of the mechanism are omitted from the drawings, such, for example, as the running gear proper and the motor as well as the conveyer for con-.

veying the sweepin'gs as accumulated by-the sweeper proper. Theobject of the invention is to provide a sweeper of a rotary character and consisting of an endless belt whereby a rotary movement is imparted to the sweeper and a maximum of the streets surface is brushed thereby in the operations of sweeping the same.

With the above objects in mind, reference is made to the accompanying drawings of which Figure 1 is a side elevation with portions of the frame work of the machine and the drum shafts shown in section on the line 11 of Fig. 3; Fig. 2 is a top plan view with a portion of the longitudinal center of the machine broken away and upright parts of the frame shown in section; Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the machine on the line 4-4L of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a detail modified view of the broom or sweeper proper.

In a detail description of the invention, similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the frame work of the machine is of rectangular form and consists of longitudinal and transverse angle bars 2 and depending portions or hangers 33 having openings in the lower ends thereof which prosp c t' a of Letters l Patented Oct. 23,1917. Application filed November 15, 1916. Serial No. 131,361.. i

vide bearings for members 4 which in turn" provide bearings for theshaft 5. Theshaft 5 is'supported. at its ends .directly inlaterally shiftable bearings 6 the ends of which are received by openings 7 in the lower ends of thehangers 33.. The ends of the bearings 6 have screw extensions 8 which are.

fitted with nuts 9 by means of which'the transmitted to the shaft 5. by this means.'

The sprocket wheel12 is mounted upon a shaft 14 supported in suitable bearings 15 in the frame work and the said shaft 14 is driven from the motor which accompanies the machine. The motor is :not shown as it isacommon means for furnishing power to parts to be driven. The shaft 5 has fixed to it a transverse cylinder or drum 16 around which the forward end of the belt cry-chain passesand is rotated therefrom.

In the drawings I have shown a belt 10 to which the brooms are attached-in a transverse manner. chains may be employed for this purpose if It will be obvious that desired. .The belt 10 hasrigidly attached thereto a series of brooms 17 arranged trans, versely at suitable distances apart so that more than one'of these-brooms shall engage the surface to be swept during the rotation of the endless belt 10. The brooms are attached to the outer surface of the belt 10 by providing them withbackings 18 which are united to the belt by suitable countersunk bolts or screws, the heads of which lie flush with the inner side of the belt. The rearward end of the belt 10 passes over a transverse cylinder or drum 19 mounted upon shaft 20, the ends of which are suitably journaled in side bars 21 which constitute a pivotal frame for said rear drum 19. The forward ends of the side bars 21 areloosely supported on the front shaft 5 which constitutes a pivot therefor and the said side bars 21 are tied together at the rear end by a bar 22 and at intermediate points vided for elevating the brooms out of con tact with the surface being swept when action requires it. This means consists of two upright links 24;, the lower ends of which are connected to the cross-rod 22 near the ends of the side bars 21 of the broom frame. The links 24 are connected by an upper crossrod 25 to which the lower endsof two bellorank levers 26 are connected The. bellcrank levers 26 are pivoted on a cross-rod 27, the ends of which are journaled in the rear-portion of the frame on each side of themachiiie. Aconnecting rod 28 ispivoted to the upper-arm of one of said bellcrank levers, the forward end of said connecting rod being coupled with a hand lever 29 which lies within reach of the driver of the machine. A locking segment 30 is secured to one side of the machine and providedwith means for holding the lever 29 in either of the two positions to which it may be moved. Cooperating with notches 31in the segment bar 80 is a bolt 32 slidably supported on the side of the lever 29 and manipulated through the finger-piece 33 to which said bolt is connected by a rod 3%, all of which is a common means for maintaining a hand lever in position. In Fig. 5 I have shown the broom to consist of a continuous sweeper 35 which is attached to the endless belt 10. The form of the broom, as shown in Fig. 1, however, is preferable for the reason that the brooms are detachable individually when they become worn out-and the cost of replacement is materially lessened by this arrangement and construction. As will be apparent, the surface is engaged by more than one of these brooms 17 at a time and the distance between the cylinders 16 and 19 is such as to Having described my-inventio-n, I .claim.

In a street sweeping machine, a main frame having two downwardly pro ecting portionson each side thereof the lower ends.

As before stated, I

of which terminate in journal openings, 7

bearing members supported. in said: openings and havingscrew. extensions by means of which they are adjusted laterally in their positions, a shaft having its ends ournaled in. said bearing members, a drum mounted,

on said shaft and rotated thereby, side frame members pivoted on said shaft and constituting a broom frame, a rear drum having end ournalsfmounted in, said side frame members, an endless belt surround- 111 said drums, a seriesof brooms attached to said endless belt, said belt andbrooms being adapted to be adjusted in the downwardly projected portions of the main frame, and elevating means connected to: the rearward end of the, broom frame, sub:

stantially as specified,

In testimony whereof I my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F, OBRIEN.

' Witnesses:

H. N. LILLEY, OLoYD SMITH.

Copies ofthispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or IatentsL Washington, D. 9. 

